Birdo

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Birdo

Birdo in Mario Party 8. She is a pink anthropomorphic dinosaur-like creature with a large mouth, who wears a red bow and a diamond ring.
Series	Mario
First game	Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987)

Birdo, known in Japan as Catherine (キャサリン, Kyasarin^?), is a fictional character in the Mario series of video games, who first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. The character reappeared in the game's Western conversion Super Mario Bros. 2, and has since become a recurring character in the Mario series, appearing in several sports games in the series as a playable character. Birdo and fellow Mario series character, Yoshi, have had a love interest since the video game Mario Tennis.

Ever since the North American release of Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo's gender has been at issue. The manual asserts that "she" is a male who believes he is a girl, and would rather be referred to as "Birdetta". Later versions of Super Mario Bros. 2 make no mention in either the manual or the video game itself. Later works from Nintendo have changed the gender back and forth, including Birdo as a love interest for Yoshi. The gender confusion is given specific mention in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Captain Rainbow, the latter involving a plot that requires players to prove Birdo is a female.

Contents 1 Concept and creation 2 Appearances 2.1 In other media 3 Reception 4 References

[edit] Concept and creation

Birdo is a cotton candy pink, anthropomorphic dinosaur who wears a red bow on her head, and has a round mouth that can fire eggs as projectiles.^[1] This specific Birdo however wears a large diamond ring on her finger. Birdo's species' colour can range from orange, to brown, and to red amongst others.^{[citation needed]} Birdo was originally a mini-boss in the Family Computer Disk System video game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic before it was converted to the Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros. 2 for North American audiences.^{[citation needed]} In early art of Birdo, the charater had an orange tone.^{[citation needed]} Birdo's name was mistakenly switched with another Super Mario Bros. 2 enemy, Ostro, both in the manual and in the end credits.^[2] The mistake persisted in the version of Super Mario Bros. 2 included in the Super Mario All-Stars compilation, but was corrected in the Game Boy Advance re-release titled Super Mario Advance.^[3][4]

Since the character's North American introduction, Birdo's gender has been an issue of discussion and speculation. The Japanese manual states the character's name is "Catherine", but it would rather be known as "Cassie."^{[citation needed]} However, in the first edition manual for the North American release of Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo is referred to as male that believes he is female, and would rather be called "Birdetta".^[5] In later printings, the second sentence was omitted, and no mention of Birdo being male was included in most later games featuring the character.^[6] In the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Birdo, called Catherine, is described similarly to the original manual, though wanting to be called "Cathy".^{[citation needed]} In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is said that Birdo is of "indeterminate gender" in her trophy.^{[citation needed]} Birdo appears in the Wii Japan-only video game Captain Rainbow, which delves into Birdo's gender.^[7] Birdo is often lauded as the first transgendered video game character.^[6][8] The character was given a female voice actor in Super Mario Advance, a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2.^[9] The Spanish language website for Mario Smash Football, while describing Birdo, suggests that the character's gender is indeterminate.^[10] The European website for Mario Strikers Charged Football refers to her as a male character.^[11]

[edit] Appearances

Birdo first appeared in the Family Computer Disk System video game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and its Western Nintendo Entertainment System conversion Super Mario Bros. 2 as a mini-boss who appears in each world of both versions, usually guarding the end of a stage and firing eggs at the player character. The Super Mario Advance remake of Super Mario Bros. 2 features a large robotic version of Birdo called "Robirdo".^[12] Since the character's appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo has made several cameo appearances, including an early one teaching the character the rules of the video game Wario's Woods. She has become a common staple in sports and racing games in the series, such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as well as appearing in the Mario Party series. She would also make appearances in multiple Mario role-playing games and most recently in the Wii video game Captain Rainbow.

[edit] In other media

Birdo was featured in the episode "The Bird! The Bird!" of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! kidnapping Toad due to nearsightedness, believing Toad to be an offspring.^{[citation needed]} A Birdo appeared in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the form of collectible items. In Melee, Birdo was visually two dimensional.^{[citation needed]} The first Track of HORSE the Band's album The Mechanical Hand, called "Birdo" heavily references the character.^[13]

[edit] Reception

Birdo has received mixed reception since first appearing in Super Mario Bros. 2. Much of the negative reception is due both to her appearance and gender confusion. The character was ranked number one on the top seven "That's a Dude?!" video game characters list on Games Radar, which states that the revelation is just as shocking now as it was when "he" first appeared in the Mario series.^[14] Birdo ranked second on the most disturbing video game bosses list, commenting that the character resembles a toy that a mother would place in a child's crib, yet would readily remove when she discovered her gender.^[15] Birdo was ranked the sixth worst character in the Mario series by GameDaily, owing to the ability to shoot eggs, which they describe as disgusting.^[1] Birdo was ranked the ninth ugliest female video game character by ScrewAttack, who described "her" as resembling a "retarded anteater".^[16] Birdo was listed amongst the "freaks" section on Games Radar's list of gaming's most "anti-babes", describing "her burst fire hose"-like mouth as terrifying.^[17] MTV Multiplayer editor Jason Cipriano questioned why Birdo and fellow Super Mario Bros. 2 enemy Shy Guy have been included in so many spin-off titles in the Mario series, commenting that they both "kinda suck", but enemies such as Wart and Mouser were not.^[18]

However, Birdo has received a fair amount of positive reception. 1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish described her as a favourite amongst fans.^[19] The character has received praise from transsexuals due to being a transvestite, including video game designer Jennifer Reitz. It is speculated by editor Chris Kohler that the gender issue was retconned to make "her" female, while Reitz suggests that "she" received a sex change operation.^[8][20] Morgan Webb of X-Play created a video titled "Birdo WTF", commenting that everyone initially thought of Birdo as a "cute little dinosaur". She also describes her as a very feminine male character if she really is a transsexual, commenting that whether she is the first transsexual video game character or not has yet to be determined.^[21] Birdo tied for eighth place on the top 10 best female video game characters by members of the Official Nintendo Magazine's forum, which the ONM staff considered whether "she" could be included due to her gender confusion.^[22]

In an article on MTV multiplayer discussing the best birds in video games, Birdo tied for second place with the chickens from Chicken Run. Tofuburger of the web site I Can Haz Cheezburger listed her as his favourite bird, calling Birdo the first transgendered video game character and humorously praising her for her fearlessness about doing whatever she wants, such as wearing whatever colour of pink she wants and shooting eggs out of her mouth.^[23] IGN editor John Tanaka found Birdo to be one of the more enjoyable guest characters in Captain Rainbow, associating his enjoyment with developer Skip's plot, which involves crossdressing and toilet humour.^[7] IGN editor Lucas Thomas called Birdo "nearly as recognized" as the character's common partner Yoshi in Mario spin-offs such as the Mario Kart and Mario sports games featuring the character.^[24] Birdo is depicted in an issue of the webcomic VG Cats at a party involving Mario villains, where one villain tricks another into trying to hook up with Birdo, the latter discovering that Birdo was actually a male.^[25]

Birdo has appeared several times as a figurine or as a part of a set of figurines. She was included in a set of chess pieces themed in the Mario series.^[26] Birdo was also featured as a "Furuta Super Mario" figurine.^[27]

[edit] References

v • d • e Mario series characters Characters Birdo • Bowser • Donkey Kong • Fawful • Goomba • Luigi • Mario • Peach • Toad • Waluigi • Wario • Yoshi